SBC customers may be eligible for $25 rebate

Since the first of December, Illinois phone bills mailed by SBC Communications Inc. have included a legal notice that some customers are eligible for a $25 rebate.

SBC officials said Monday that while the notice applies to an estimated 490,000 customers, only about half of those customers are expected to qualify for the $25.

Rob Kelter, a lawyer for the Citizens Utility Board, said that the consumer group fears that eligible customers will overlook the notice and forgo the $25 that's due them.

The SimpliFive plan, which was marketed by Ameritech in the 1990s, offered service for a set rate of a nickel a minute, and suggested this would save customers money. In 2000 CUB complained to the Illinois Commerce Commission that the offer was misleading because it charged many customers more than Ameritech's standard rates.

The ICC staff found that on average, 47 percent of SimpliFive customers paid more under SimpliFive, and SBC stopped advertising the plan as a money saver. In 2002, SBC dropped the plan altogether.

Some private lawyers brought a class action lawsuit against SBC in downstate Madison County, and SBC agreed to a settlement, which it said could cost as much as $12 million.

"Never admitted to impropriety," said Carrie Hightman, SBC Illinois president. "But we settled to put this old issue behind us so we can focus on what's important to our customers."

CUB objected to the settlement because it required customers to swear an oath under threat of perjury that they lost money on SimpliFive.

"We argued that SimpiFive was so confusing, customers couldn't tell if they lost money or not," Kelter said. "The threat of perjury was likely to scare away customers who had legitimate claims."

SBC subsequently agreed to drop the mention of perjury from its claim forms, which now only ask that customers attest they did use the SimpliFive plan and believe they lost money. SBC is relying on the honesty of its customers not to claim the $25 if they don't deserve it, Kelter said.

"In general, people using SimpliFive saved money if they made a lot of local toll calls," he said. "If they didn't, it's likely the plan cost them money."